1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for recognizing a parking area, and more particularly to a method and an apparatus for recognizing a parking area that enhances a precision in recognition of a parking area by reducing a measurement error when the parking area is recognized using an ultrasonic sensor.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In an existing parking area recognizing method, a vehicle recognizes a parking area by transmitting an ultrasonic signal to an object through an ultrasonic sensor, by receiving an ultrasonic echo signal obtained when the transmitted ultrasonic signal returns to the vehicle after it is reflected on the object, by measuring a transmission time and a reception time to calculate a round trip time, and by calculating the distance from the object using the calculated round trip time.
However, in the existing parking area recognizing method, since the angle between an ultrasonic sensor of a vehicle and an object is not measured, the parking area is recognized by calculating a round trip time and the distance from the object with the assumption that the object is in front of the ultrasonic sensor. That is, in the existing parking area recognizing method, since a round trip time and the distance from an object obtained using it contain error components, the measured length of the object calculated using the distance from the object may be longer or shorter than the actual length of the object, causing a mistaken result in recognition of a parking area.